Great Backyard Bird Count

What is this event?

I wanted to showcase the Great Backyard Bird Count as a fun citizen science task to do over the weekend. This event happens every year around the same time. Migrating birds are coming back in droves and getting a count of how many survived the winter can be helpful for scientists. 

This is a longer description since my speaker asked me to write about his past birding experience. 

Description: Have you heard of the Great Backyard Bird Count? Join the world in connecting to birds – February 16–19, 2024. Spend time in your favorite places watching birds, then tell us about them! In as little as 15 minutes notice the birds around you. Identify them, count them, and submit them to help scientists better understand and protect birds around the world. 

This event will be an introduction to birdwatching. This is a great hobby for everyone because it's completely free to start! All you need is your eyes and ears to hear them sing. We will be inside for the first half and move outside to the nearby walking trail to find birds for ourselves. We will have a raffle with two prizes, a bird feeder with seed and a beginner birdwatching book. 

Join Neil Garrison as he talks about his great passion for birdwatching.  He earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Oklahoma State University in 1973 in Wildlife Ecology. For 30 years he was the Naturalist at OKC"s Martin Park Nature Center and retired in 2009. He continues to write a weekly column for The Oklahoman called "Nature & You," leads a weekly birdwatching hike for seniors, hosts a monthly birdwatching hike at Marin Park Nature Center, and works with the G.M. Sutton Avian Research Center to monitor bald eagle nests in Oklahoma County. All as a volunteer! 

What I did to prepare

I sent out many emails to local locations and businesses that featured birds. I contacted Wild Birds Unlimited (WBU), OKC Audubon, Martin Park Nature Center, and other personal contacts. WBU reached out to me and said they didn't have anyone that could present but they recommend Neil to me and said they wanted to give me a raffle prize for the event! They sent me a lovely bird feeder with winter seed in a branded tote bag. They were so excited to work with me. I also purchased the Birds of Oklahoma Field Guide which was about $11 as a second prize. 

I was able to find Neil's contact information and sent him an email. He's newly retired but still wanted to do this event with us. He stopped by before the event to look at the our event spaces and the walking path we have nearby. Considering this was all from cold emails, it went surprising well. We decided to split the event into two portions. The first part would be a presentation or talk then we'd move outside and walk a bit down the path a bit to get our feet wet with birdwatching. 

I also wanted to make a take home kit to help promote the event. I found a cute one that made a bird feeder from paper plates. I put a flyer in the kit for my event and some information about where they can learn more about birds. I had about 10 kits left on the day of the event so I put them in the room for people to take home. I made a bird feeder last year as well and linked the instructions to the paper plate and paper roll craft here. 

Set Up

The event was on Saturday 17th from 2 - 3:30 pm. Neil asked for two tables at the front and the rest of the room was chairs in an audience style. I had a few tables set up on one side of the room that had the raffle, books for check out, the kits, bird coloring sheets, and information about the Great Backyard Bird Count. I also had a small play area in the back for littler kids to keep them entertained during the talk. 

 

Takeaway

This was a good event and a labor of love on my part. We had a decent amount of people come and there was a good mix of ages. Adults and kids were asking questions about Neil's experiences with different birds. Neil has a bit of a fan base as well so my numbers were boosted because of that. 

The weather was very cold and windy that day so the walk part was shortened. We did get to hear and see different birds and everyone seemed to be having a good time despite the weather. I would love to do more outside and nature related events so this was a good learning experience for me. I can't wait to do it again.